Find out how popular the last name Coughlan is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Coughlan.

Coughlan, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Coughlan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Coughlan in America

Coughlan is the 16100th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Coughlan surname appeared 1,798 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Coughlan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Coughlan to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Coughlan

The surname "COUGHLAN" originated in Ireland, deriving from the Irish Gaelic personal name "O Cochláin" which means "descendant of Cochlán." The name Cochlán is a diminutive of the Gaelic word "coch" meaning "red" or "ruddy."

The name first appeared in historic records in the early 12th century, with the Coughlan clan being among the notable families of County Cork. They were part of the Dalcassian race and descended from Oilioll Olum, the 3rd century King of Munster.

One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Aodh O Coughlan, who was Bishop of Ross in the year 1216. Another early record is that of Senchan O Coughlan, who was an Irish poet and historian in the 7th century.

In the 16th century, the Coughlans were among the leading families of the Carbery region in County Cork. They were Lords of the territory of Clanawley and held substantial lands around Rosscarbery and Clonakilty.

A notable figure in Irish history was Muiris Coughlan (1593-1635), a Catholic priest who was hanged for his religious beliefs during the Protestant Reformation. Another Coughlan of note was Robert Coughlan (1745-1828), an Irish-born merchant and land speculator who played a significant role in the early settlement of New Brunswick, Canada.

Other historically prominent individuals with the Coughlan surname include Richard Coughlan (1825-1899), an Irish-born bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, New York, and Michael Coughlan (1892-1976), an Irish hurler who played for the Cork senior team and won three All-Ireland medals.

The surname has also been recorded with various spelling variations over the centuries, including Coghlan, Coglan, Caughlane, Caughulin, and others, reflecting the linguistic evolution and regional dialects of Ireland.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Coughlan

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Coughlan.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Coughlan was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Coughlan has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Coughlan was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Coughlan, please contact us.

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